The cardiovascular disorder, hypertension, afflicts between 10-20% of the adult population and is a major risk factor in many forms of other cardiovascular disease [N. M. Kaplan, Arch. Intern. Med., 143, 255(1983)]. One way to reduce the blood pressure of a hypertensive patient is to dilate the cardiovascular system by administering an alpha-1 antagonist such as the drug Prazosin ("Prazosin: Pharmacology, Hypertension and Congestive Heart Failure,", M. D. Rawlins, Ed., 1981). Another way to treat hypertension is to administer ketanserin, [3-[2-[4-(4-fluorobenzoyl)piperidin-1-yl]ethyl]-2,4-(1H,3H)quinazolinedion e], as described at the proceedings of the 10th Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Hypertension, [J. Cardiovasc. Pharmacol. (1985), 7 (Suppl 7)]. This drug is a serotonin antagonist [for a review of serotonin's role in the vascular system, see D. S. Houston and P. M. Vanhoutte, Drugs, 31, 149 (1986)], and this class of drugs has also been shown to inhibit platelet aggregation, tracheal smooth muscle contraction, gastrointestinal smooth muscle contraction, and anxiety disorders. [P. A. J. Janssen, TIPS, 4, 198 (1983); P. A. J. Janssen, J. Cardiovasc. Pharmacol. 1985, 7 (Suppl 7), S2; P. R. Saxena, et al., TIPS, 8, (1986)].
A compound which shows activity in the established Spontaneous Hypertensive Rat (SHR) model (or alpha-1 receptor binding) is potentially an agent for use in hypertension. Likewise, a compound which shows activity towards the serotonin receptor should be an agent for an agent for use in gastric motility, or an agent to modify the state of tension and anxiety.